Paris-Roubaix Femmes brings the cobbled brutality of northern France to the women's calendar, rewarding bike handling, nerve, and resilience in a single afternoon.
Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift is the women's cobbled Monument, first held in 2021. The race runs from Denain to the Roubaix velodrome across northern France, using the same late-race pavé sectors that define the men's classic.
Lizzie Deignan won the first edition in 2021, attacking with more than 80 kilometers remaining and holding off the chase to finish alone.
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This race proved the women's peloton belonged on the cobbles from the moment Lizzie Deignan soloed to the velodrome in the inaugural edition. Every year since has delivered the same volatile mix of positioning battles, mechanical attrition, and late-race attacks that define Monument racing at its most unforgiving. The shorter distance compresses the pressure, leaving less room to recover from mistakes and making every sector feel more urgent. Winners here combine technical skill with tactical clarity, and the velodrome finish rewards whoever can still accelerate after the cobbles have done their work.
The race uses the decisive late sectors of the men's route, which keeps the focus on the hardest pavé in the closing kilometers. Mons-en-Pévèle and Carrefour de l'Arbre arrive late enough that the finale is shaped by attrition rather than reset. The shorter distance compresses the pressure: there is less time to chase back after a bad sector and fewer calm stretches to reorganize. The race tends to fracture in layers until a solo rider or very small group reaches the velodrome.
The race includes a selection of the same pave sectors used in the men race. The rough granite surfaces test bike handling, power, and nerve across the final 80 kilometers.
The race finishes inside the same Roubaix velodrome as the men edition. Entering the track alone or in a small group is the defining moment.
At around 145 kilometers, the women race is shorter than the men but packs the key cobbled sectors into a compressed, intense finale.
Through five editions, every winner has been different. The race is young, unpredictable, and not yet dominated by a single rider or style.
Most recent winner: Pauline Ferrand-Prévot
Lizzie Deignan attacked with 80 kilometers remaining and rode alone into the Roubaix velodrome. The first women Paris-Roubaix produced one of the most remarkable solo victories in cycling history.
Lotte Kopecky won from a small group on the Roubaix velodrome, using her combination of power and positioning to control the finale across the decisive cobbled sectors.
Pauline Ferrand-Prevot attacked solo with 25 km to go and held off the chase, becoming the first French winner of Paris-Roubaix since 1997 in either the men or women race.
The inaugural winner in 2021. Her 80-kilometer solo breakaway set a standard for bravery that the race may never surpass.
The 2024 winner combined cobbled-classics power with sprint speed, proving the race can also be won by controlling the finale rather than escaping early.
The 2025 winner brought mountain bike handling skills to the pave and attacked solo, connecting the cobbles to cycling multi-discipline future.
Won in 2022 with a solo move that echoed the attacking spirit of Deignan inaugural ride, establishing that the cobbles reward boldness.
Paris-Roubaix Femmes shares the cobbled sectors and the velodrome finish that have made the men race a Monument for over a century. The pave is the same. The drama is its own.
The iconic open-air velodrome where the winner enters alone or in a small group. Riding onto the track is the defining image of Paris-Roubaix.
One of the most demanding pave sectors, appearing late in the race when legs are already heavy. Where the decisive selection often happens.
A long, rough sector through farmland that demands sustained power and balance. Flat tires and mechanical problems are common here.
The Arenberg forest trench is the most famous cobbled sector in cycling. When included in the women race, it changes the dynamic entirely.
